DreamLyrics™ Play-by-Post Forums Hall of Fame - Latest Top 10 completed games OAHE: Once upon an All Hallows Eve All Wet?

>Seeker-On-High<

With a pop of threads, Seeker's claws tear the covers and he's free enough to scamper over to the far corner of the bed, out of the spirit's immediate reach, then look back to see...

She stopped? Or maybe was never going to...

Oh, to know what was going on in the dream right now. He was rarely interested in dreams, too flighty and temporary, but right now...

If, somehow, those in the dream had found a name, a hint, anything, they had what they needed. Except for one thing. One important thing he kept letting slip out of his thoughts.

Somewhere, that shadow-thing that had slipped down on the lightning (or had it? was that just coincidence? nothing rode lightning, did it?) was about, likely making mischief. And he had no idea how to find it, even if they could calm the spirit.

This wasn't getting any simpler.

And if the old burden woke up, it would get chaotic quickly. But he didn't know any way to keep the old burden asleep that didn't involve getting between him and the spirit, which he wasn't going to do again.

Shadow

Well, that seemed to work, given the spirit slowing down. The shadow of a cat took up position between the spirit and the Burden, tucking his limbs beneath his torso, perpendicular to the path of travel. The inattentiveness of burdens and ex-burdens could itself be used against them, though again he did not deign to go on the offensive at this time.

The spirit remained frozen as if fully caught up in the dream world at least at this moment.

Outside the storm grew in intensity. Rain pelted the windows like large claws tinkling against the glass.

Tiger-Liliy

She hopes this doesn't take much longer. The storm bothers her, adding to the feelings of insecurity she has with regards to the spirit. She fights the urge to flee as she does not want to desert her companions.

On the other hand, she doesn't want to go out into the storm either.

>Seeker-On-High<

Carefully and slowly creeping to the edge of the bed, Seeker looked down toward the other cats still outside of dream, voice low so he doesn't disturb it.

"There's something in that storm. Or using the storm. I caught a glimpse of it outside, I think. But only for a little bit, and never directly."

He didn't like admitting to being such a bad hunter quite so openly. He considered himself a very good hunter, in fact, and this particular prey was so unusually tricky most would never have spotted it at all. But he didn't have time to argue that point and so quietly continued.

"We need to be very attentive. It looked like nothing more than a shadow, so it might get in as easily as Shadow could. And I don't recall us warding the house, just the pool outside. Unless...?" He looked down, hopeful that his memory was wrong, just this once.

Shadow

His immaterial ears perked and twitched: A shadow entity seeking to get involved? He'd have to be sure to give it a suitable greeting. He stood, stretched, arching his back, then watched and listened.

Tiger-Lily

Her whiskers twitch.

"Just the pond.. and I don't think we have time for a ward here."

She doesn't add that it would mean heading outside in the storm to make a fresh kill, something she is definitely not keen to do.

She looks around, her eyes searching for any sign of movement.

"Do you think it is coming here?"

>Seeker-On-High<

"Here is the most interesting place nearby."

Seeker's ear twitched and he bent his head to scratch at it. There was something he was still missing or just didn't understand, and it bothered him more than he wanted to say.

The spirit remained still at least offering that small bit of comfort. Outside the storm raged.

Shadow stalked the house and noted the places that he could get in or out if he so chose. Yet none of them seemed to be being used at the moment. In fact they seemed reasonably safe given the conditions outside.

Shadow

He returned to the place of the Burden, settling down with a good view of the possible points of entry from within and without.

"It doesn't seem to be coming in right this nap. It may do, it may have done, but it isn't challenging for the territory just yet."

Tiger-Lily

"Then all we can do is stay alert."

Already unsettled by the storm, she is more than nervous now, unable to settle down, changing position often, not really sure which direction she should face.

>Seeker-On-High<

He flattened down onto the bed, hoping that meant he wasn't quite as seen from down below.

"We can also know more before we get this deep into a mess," Seeker muttered, knowing it was pretty much his own fault they'd come here so unready. His scouting pointed them toward this place, after all, and they'd all followed him here like he knew what he was doing.

And he really hadn't. And things were much messier and more dangerous than he'd thought. And didn't make any sense, really. Maybe if he could find some proper spirit experts or stories that would explain what might've happened here, he could work things out. But that was for before coming here, and they were already here.

Which meant their only hopes were the Dreamers coming back with something important or the shadow-thing doing something obvious and interpretable. Which so far seemed unlikely.

The storm raged on and the burden slept better with the cat companions near by. The house seemed safer to all of the real world cats if only for a bit.

Shadow

Confident (as ever) that he was the main reason for the increased sense of safety, Shadow stayed alert for any potential challenges to his obviously beneficial suzerainty.

The storm starts to calm outside. Or maybe it is trying to lure them into a false sense of security. The spirit is still still.

Soot

She stretches as she wakes from her position near the burden and looks around.

Tiger-Lily

She is relieved that the storm is easing. And sits up as the others start to react again.

"How did it go?"

She asks Soot.

"Did you learn anything?"

>Seeker-On-High<

As the others wake from their dream-nap on the bed, Seeker finds himself no longer the highest up cat around. But, as nervous as that always makes him, there's not real time for that sort of thing right now. Still, it left him considering his options while Tiger-Lily asked the important question.

So he sat up as straight and tall as he could (not very tall, though... not the highest... bad!) and kept his attention on the spirit, making sure nothing more happened, even though he still had no real options to respond if she did try anything.

The spirit howled like a sea gale. It rattled the room's clear protection from the storm. She lashed about the room as if fighting an invisible foe. Water that tasted of the sea lashed at the cats from the spray of the spirit's fast moving limbs. But she didn't shift position only her upper body thrashed.

Soot

She pushed her whiskers forward in agreement and said quietly to Tiger-Lily, "Her name or part of it. And that she's made a bargain. She gets to come see the one she cares about, but she must come when called and do things. If she doesn't there is pain and threats to him."

TIGER - LILY

She listens as Soot explains but is quite distracted by how the spirit is behaving now. As some of the sea water reaches her, she stands, rapidly backing off a couple of steps to get out of reach.

"What is it doing now. Is it in some sort of conflict?"

Shadow

Mrring with perplexed curiosity, the shadow of a cat rose, reaching out to gently place one intangible paw against the strangely-acting spirit's foot.

>Seeker-On-High<

He jumped back as sitting straight and tall got him a snootfull of salty water. He shook his head, sneezed once and felt terribly damp.

How the old man was sleeping thru all the noise, he wasn't sure. But he had no idea how to protect him or calm this spirit now, and jumping down off the bed was just giving up what little height he'd managed. So he stood, head low and ready to move, even if totally unsure as to where that might be.

"I think she might be fighting something. But I don't have any good idea what."

The spirit howls in pain. The with a splash coats all of the cats in the room with salt water, except the intangible Shadow. The spirit had exploded and was now an inert puddle.

The burden spit water and said in an angry voice "what is going on?" The old man was clearly bewildered.

Soot shakes herself. She'd been wet before when traveling with her Burden but this? This is just wrong.

Bringer has said and done nothing since their return. She looks around for him while trying to mask her worry. Her tail lashes though in a somewhat clear indication of some disquiet.